


Celebrating The Gay

by Bourneblack



Series: Who Prays [2]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Basically, Coming Out, M/M, Misunderstandings, Oneshot, POV George Barnes, and over prepares to be the best dad a gay son can ask for, bucky needs to stop feeding sugar babies, george barnes loves his gay son, george watches as he son grows up, good parents, realizes that hes gay, this story is kinda like recieving a warm hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:07:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29781402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bourneblack/pseuds/Bourneblack
Summary: When he caught his son kissing the housekeeper’s nephew when he was twelve years old, George Barnes knew that he may have a problem on his hands.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: Who Prays [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2188932
Comments: 40
Kudos: 193





	Celebrating The Gay

**Author's Note:**

> The idea gripped me and wouldn’t let go. Have meticulously awkward parents loving their gay son.
> 
> This may not make sense without having read the original, but you are welcome to give it a shot.
> 
> Rated M for a brief mention of attempted sexual assault and some casual violence

  
When he caught his son kissing the housekeeper’s nephew when he was twelve years old, George Barnes knew that he may have a problem on his hands.

Maybe it meant nothing. They were both children, for God's sake. Bucky had seen George kiss Winnie a hundred times, for all he knew, that’s what you did to tell someone you cared about them.

But George kept an eye out. He kept an eye out when Winnie’s make up started to go missing when Bucky was fourteen, and Rebecca was old enough to have her own. He kept an eye out when Bucky started taking an interest in fashion - not for the supermodels like the other boys his age, but for the clothes themselves. He kept an eye out when Bucky began hoarding soaps and lotion of different scents, and grooming himself to a higher degree than even George himself.

Stereotypes are not facts. But they can lead to one.

Despite his fear, his desire to know, George did not ask. By then, Bucky was starting to gain interest from Arnim - and not the good kind. Arnim had been looking forward to his only daughter's only son growing older, as he could make a valuable high level employee for the Zola’s to utilize. But Bucky’s interests were also drawing concerned comments.

“Sometimes it seems like you had two daughters,” Arnim would say. George would be forced to laugh.

It was in Milan, when George was taking Bucky to a fashion show for his 16th birthday, then he knew. Bucky’s eyes were drawn to the women, but for all the wrong... for all the reasons George would not have expected. Judgment of style, of colors, of the way the clothes hung. On the men, it was the same analysis, and George nearly relaxed, up until he saw the way Bucky tensed at the sight of one of them, became tongue tied in his explanations, his eyes dilating and his palms sweating.

That night, after George finished a drink with Armani’s crowd, he stalked the Milan streets and slipped into the after party the models were holding at the Ritz Carlton. He found his son immediately in the back corner of the room, cheeks pink, that model’s arm wrapped around his shoulder. He stayed hidden in the shadows, and watched as they kissed. He watched as the model whispered something into Bucky’s ear, as Bucky’s face turned red and he nodded. He watched and they slipped into the lobby of the hotel, as they climbed into the elevator together, and headed off to his room.

Then, George knew he had a problem.

George begged off his own after party, citing old age and a worried wife, then logged into his computer. He starts a VPN, hides his traffic from the public internet, and types into the search bar:

‘My son is gay. What do I do?’

A little bit of searching the internet gives George access to a forum called ‘Reddit’ where one could post questions about sexuality, and have it answered by members of the gay community. George poses his question there. “I saw my son kissing a boy. I know he is gay. I love my son. What do I do?”

He posts, and then he waits. There are a lot of people on this forum, and it doesn’t take a long time to get responses.

“How old is your son? Is he hot?” Says one. It’s not worth a response.

“You don't know he's gay, you know he is experimenting wtih men. He might be Bi, or Pan, he might be exploring gender roles, or he might be straight and lost a bet. You shouldn't assume anything until he tells you himself. What you saw is one moment in time, not a guarantee, and if you push him to tell you he's gay thatas as bad as pushing him to be straight. let your son figure himself out, and then come to you.” Says another. Bi? Pan? Those are words George has never heard before. He knows his son is gay; he is a man kissing another man.

“Your son is an individual, and isn't just an icon of the Gay Monolith. Unless you tell us about HIM, you're being exactly as prejudiced as you imply you don’t want to be by saying you love him,” says another. This response confuses him, and he ignores it as well.

“Kissing a boy doesn’t make him gay!” says another. Confused, George searches the word Gay in another tab. He is correct - it is slang for a homosexual. That’s what Bucky is.

“Father of a gay son and a lesbian daughter here. I may be able to help. First, it’s great that you say that you love him. A lot of father’s would be afraid of seeing their son kissing another boy, but you came on here to ask for advice first, and that’s the best thing you can do. When I first saw my son kissing a boy, I reacted poorly. I yelled at him, told him it was wrong. But in reality I was afraid. Afraid of what he being gay meant for him and for his future. I realize now that I was wrong, and I’m lucky my son was so understanding.”

George nods at this, and begins a response.

“I worry about my son’s future. My extended family does not find homosexuality acceptable. I will love him, and my wife will love him, but he will be in danger from them. He is sixteen now, and I just saw him kissing a boy that he clearly had feelings for. I also think they are going to have sex. I worry about him thinking that because of the rest of my family’s poor views, I will not be okay with that.”

There were more responses that appeared when George typed and posted his.

“Where do you live, if your nearby i can introduce him to the community”

“send us pics.”

George ignores those and waits for the other father to respond. But the other father doesn’t respond, someone else responds to his response first.

“I remember when I came out to my parents. My father was the one most upset with me. He couldn’t even look at me. A year later I left to join the army without looking back, and I haven’t seen him since. I want to tell you what went wrong, and hope that for you, it goes better. My father constantly was insulting towards homosexuals, so much so that I was afraid of coming out to him. It sounds like if your son is gay, your family’s beliefs may be holding him back from telling you. I think that you should actively make an effort to say such a thing is okay, without every saying that you think that he might be gay. For instance, pointing out a gay celebrity on television and commenting that you don’t mind that he is gay. Another thing, my father wasn’t very open with us. He was cold and distant. I wish that I was able to talk to him a bit more about this, but his fear of my being gay was too much, and we couldn’t bridge the gap.”

George responds to this one.

“Thank you for sharing this. I am sorry things did not work out for you and your father. I will take your advice and tell my son that I think that someone being gay is fine. For instance, Anderson Cooper is gay, and he delivers great news. There is nothing that indicates being gay means his news would be any different. Also, please tell me what ‘came out’ means?”

“That’s okay, I’ve made my peace with it now. Coming out is the moment someone tells someone else they are not straight. It’s a very big deal for the individual. They could know for a fact that the person they are telling is accepting of them, but still feel a massive amount of fear and judgement. I remember that I hated myself for being gay for so long, deep down inside, and it took many years for me to accept the fact that I am this way. If you come out the gate not only accepting, but celebrating the fact your son his gay, he’ll grow to accept himself much faster.”

The last thing George wants is for Bucky to hate himself. He wants Bucky to love himself as he loves him. So he must make sure that when Bucky comes out, he celebrates the moment.

“Thank you for that knowledge. I will be sure to celebrate my son’s coming out. But I will wait for him to be ready.”

Another response spikes George’s interest.

“I think we are missing the point here that a boy kissing another boy doesn’t make him necessarily gay!”

George responds, playing ignorance.

“I’m sorry, my English is not good. I thought that gay meant a boy that kisses another boy?”

The response to this is much more kind.

“So gay means the a man is attracted to other men. But there are men that can be attracted to both men and women. The other thing OP is trying to say is that maybe he’s just experimenting as well. Sometimes you can kiss a boy and realize that you aren’t gay, that you only like woman. So don’t assume your son is gay, wait for him to make that determination. And if he changes his mind, that’s okay as well.”

“That makes sense. I will have to do more research on this. Thank you.”

A week later, and George turns on the TV right when the Ellen show is on. He pretends to be suprised by this. Bucky is on the couch next to him, reading a book for school, and frowns at the distraction.

“Ellen,” George says.

“What about her?” Bucky says mildly.

“She has ‘come out’ as a gay woman,” George says. The boy tenses, and fumbles with his book.

“Yeah, actually.” Bucky clears his throat, looking straight ahead. “I didn’t know you, uh, followed that. In the news.”

George nods. “I recently became aware of that fact. I think that it’s fine. She’s funny, and she has a great personality. It doesn’t matter too much to me.”

Bucky doesn’t say anything, but George can feel his eyes burning a hole in his face. George continues watching the show without reaction. It is rather funny, actually.

“You really think that?” Bucky asks quietly.

“I do. Though that is not an opinion I can share with Arnim, it’s something that I believe.”

Bucky tenses up at his side again. “And we have to listen to Arnim.”

“Perhaps we do not always have to listen to Arnim.”

“Papa!” Bucky says, eyes wide. “You can’t mean -- ”

“I do not say things I do not mean,” George says, and he finally looks his son in the eyes. “Ever.”

Bucky swallows his words and nods. “I think I’ll finish this in my room,” he says, gesturing to his book.

George lets him go, but he keeps the show on. It’s his first time watching, and he finds that he very much enjoys it.

“Did you hear the news?” George says loudly over dinner the next night.

“What news?” Winnifred asks with wide eyes. George has recruited her into operation: celebrate the gay, and she is estatic to participate. Rebecca rolls her eyes, but Bucky doesn’t seem to catch on, busy digging into his meal.

“California has declared that the ban on same-sex marriage in unconstitutional,” George says. Bucky drops his fork, and it clatters loudly on his plate.

“That’s wonderful news,” Winnie says firmly, “I think that anyone should be able to marry who they love. I hope that New York is next.”

George loves his wife at this moment. “I agree with that statement.”

“Can I be excused?” Bucky asks quietly.

“Of course, son,” George says. He was told to give him time. He hopes that Bucky doesn’t hate himself.

It doesn’t take much longer for Bucky to approach George in his work office.

“Dad... Can I talk to you privately for a moment?” Bucky asks, closing the door behind him with a click.

George straightens in his chair. “Of course son. What is it?”

Bucky visibly steels himself, like he’s preparing to face off against him in the ring. He looks George directly in the eye, and with all of the strength, he says, “I’m gay.”

George has been preparing for this moment.

He slaps his desk and stands up with a wild smile. “Congratulations! You are gay!”

Bucky’s eyes go wide when he stands, but he freezes in a defensive stance, confused.

“Th-thanks?”

“Max! Max, it is time, bring it in!”

Bucky whirls around the door bursts open behind them, and a large, brutish man appears, wheeling a cake into the room. The simple white cake that reads ‘YOU ARE GAY’ in large, blocky letters, and was covered in rainbow sprinkles.

“Um.”

Max sets the cake in front of Bucky, then with a completely neutral expression, blows a party horn. He throws two handfuls of confetti over Bucky’s head, then nods to George and leaves the room.

This, George thinks with a satisfactory nod, is a celebration.

Bucky’s eyes are wide with confusion, and his hands are still clenched into fists by his side. Confetti lays over his short hair, and rests on his shoulders.

“Wh. What.”

“I am celebrating your gayness,” George explains.

“How...?”

“I saw you kissing that model a month ago,” George explains patiently. “I did not want you to think that if you were gay, you would experience anything but love from me. The people online told me that I am to celebrate your gayness so that you do not hate yourself, but to wait until you ‘came out.’ I love you Bucky, no matter who you choose to love.”

Bucky’s fists tighten, but his face breaks into a smile. “Papa...”

George remembers how the first response on that forum talked about his distant father. That is not how he wants Bucky to see him. George comes around the desk and walks up to Bucky, and gives him a hug.

He can count the number of times he’s hugged his son on one hand in the past ten years. A holdover from his own father, a distant man that found emotional displays to be a waste of time. But it certainly doesn’t feel like one, especially as Bucky melts into his arms, squeezing him tightly and holding on for dear life. George decides to make an effort to do this more often.

Bucky pulls back suddenly. “But... But Arnim...”

George’s smile melts into something much more sinister. He discussed Arnim at length with Winnifred, and they knew that the time had come to execute their plan. “Don’t worry about Arnim, son.”

“Update. My son has come out to me. I gave him a cake, and threw confetti on him. He was confused, but when I told him I was celebrating his gayness, he broke into a smile and gave me a hug. He knows I love him more than anything now, and I hope that he loves himself, too. I will now close the thread. Thank you everyone who shared their stories.”

Eighteen years old, publically ‘out,’ and Bucky was starting to attract.... attention.

With Rebecca, George was batting away suitors from the moment she turned twelve. Despite his worry, she took the reins on her own love life relatively quickly. She has found a good partner that George and Winnifred both approve of.

Being gay, and out, it was almost as if Bucky was going through puberty all over again. The years missed out with the normal experience of meeting people in his teens were catching up to Bucky now. George did not expect for Bucky to receive suitors, nor that they would be so bold towards his own son, and had to react quickly

The first time Bucky was cornered by a forty year old man that was looking at him like a piece of meat, George saw red. He had the man beaten in an alley, then shot off his foot, and told him to stay away from his son. Bucky didn’t even seem to know what the man was insinuating, years of etiquette assuming that his interest was polite.

George kept his eye out for him. Bucky still had the body of a youth, despite his constant workout out schedule. It’s seems while being homosexual has no bearing on the goodness of ones soul, it also had no bearing on the badness. George scared off those that looked at Bucky with that kind of sick interest, beating them back, sometimes literally, so that Bucky could have a few moments of his life being a normal teen for just a little longer.

George kept track of as many of Bucky’s partners as he could. When he was smaller in stature, most were one offs. Bucky’s interest in fashion had only deepened, and many models found themselves to be gay or bisexual men that Bucky became close with. One was an American football player who wanted to keep things on the ‘low down,’ slang for not being out. No one really stuck until Bucky started to grow, his body forming into that of one of George’s enforcers. That’s when he caught the attention of Ronnie.

Bucky met Ronnie at his twenty-first birthday party. He was the son of a well known artist, and hung off of Bucky’s every word the whole night. Two weeks of dating, Bucky bursts into the house and declares that he has found the love of his life. A week later, he declares that they have broken up.

“Would you like to talk about it son?”

“It happens,” Bucky mutters around a beer that night. They were drinking at the bar in George’s house, just the two of them. “He just... I think he just wanted to ride in my car. Why would he date me just to ride in my car? Who does that?”

“Some people just want you for what you can offer.” George places a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. He’s been focusing on physical communication.

Bucky leans into the touch. “Thanks Dad, but I think I just need to ride this one out.”

George thought Bucky would have learned his lesson with Ronnie, but then he fell hard for Jonah a few months later. Jonah was a year younger than Bucky, and considerably smaller, yet had Bucky wrapped around his finger. Bucky bought him clothes, bought him jewelry, bought him expensive dinners, and Jonah was offering nothing but himself in return. George can see the way Bucky gave him his all, and could see him again falling into another trap.

So George goes to meet Jonah.

In the dead of the night.

In his apartment bathroom.

The threats George leaves are so graphic, that Jonah breaks up with Bucky that night and leaves the tristate area.

Bucky mopes, and moves on. A year later, he declares he’s in love with David. And George gets to work.

By the time Bucky had moved on to Steve, George had found a good rhythm. Wait for Bucky to decide he’s in love, watch the way Bucky speaks of him, then go to visit the man.

The ways Bucky speaks of Steve is like many others, at first.

“He understands me,” Bucky says, his voice dreamy. Years of this over the family dinners have made most of them immune to his dramatic words. “He’s so kind. But he’s fierce, too. Always calls me out. Funny, God he’s funny. I think... I think I’m in love with him.”

Rebecca rolls her eyes, but Winnie pinches her shoulder.

“How many dates have you been on?” Winnie asks.

Bucky hesitates. “Well... Three?”

George sighs.

Steve Rogers was certainly different, George realizes when he does his background research. A business major, no parents, currently living with two roommates out in Brooklyn. He poured all his money into a coffee shop. Despite the glaring sign that he needs money, he seems to be self-sufficient, and the starting of his own business is a good sign. He’s nowhere near Bucky’s wealth level, but perhaps that will make a difference.

George goes to meet him.

When Steve breaks Bucky’s heart, George prepares to make due on his promises.

He starts by gathering more detailed research. What he finds gives him pause.

Bucky ordered a hit on Brock Rumlow. George finally realizes why. He had drugged Steve with the intent to have his way with him. George feels rage. Feels sad for the boy who is gay, who had no mother, and whose father left him to start a new family out in Virginia. George hopes he doesn’t hate himself.

Then he sees the fundraiser. Steve was having spinal surgery, and was raising money for it online. It was only $14,000. That was less than Bucky’s mortgage payment. Why didn’t he pay it?

George left his home office to find Bucky lying his head on Winnie’s lap, Winnie running her hand through his hair.

“What happened?” George asks.

“I made a mistake,” Bucky says softly.

“He is different from your usual choices in partners,” George says.

“I told you so,” Winnifred says. “He was sweet and funny and kind. I could tell that he would be perfect for you. So what happened, Bucky?”

“I didn’t tell him what I did,” Bucky says. “I thought I could, but I just... didn’t. And he found out.”

George sighs. Silly boy.

“I’ve been taken advantage of by most everyone I loved,” Bucky says quietly. “Steve never asked me for a dime. I bought him a scarf once, and even then he didn’t want to take it. He cared about me. I think he loved me. And I couldn’t bear to see his face fall when he realized who I was.”

“Shhh...” Winnie says.

“He found out when I killed Rumlow,” Bucky says. “Put together some of the pieces. Didn’t help that he knew Natasha. And he pulled a gun on me.”

George raises an eyebrow. Impressive.

“Told me to never speak to him again. So I won’t. God I want to. But, I won’t.”

“Pay for his surgery,” George offers. The answer seems simple. A gift, to show his appreciation.

Bucky stiffens. “Surgery?”

Ah.

Bucky didn’t know.

It takes half an hour, but Winnifred convinces them both that paying for Steve’s spinal surgery is not a good thing. It doesn’t make sense to George why Steve wouldn’t ask. Bucky’s old boyfriends asked for clothes, for luxury, for boats, for trips to Paris. Steve _needed surgery_ , and didn’t ask him for a cent.

“You will respect his wishes as you were doing before,” Winnifred declares again. “If you want any chance at getting back with that man, you show him you respect him.”

George realizes that Steve is the man Bucky needs.

George loves his wife. Trusts her. And agrees with her.

And then Steve texts Bucky.

Bucky, the silly boy, will always be led by his heart. It was his heart that led him to tell Steve everything, despite that fact that he could have been wired or bugged. George nearly kills him for that alone, except it ends up with Steve inviting Bucky to his recovery, and that was the first step in bridging the gap to get the two back together.

Bucky’s heart is big. It desires to belong to someone. It _needs_ to belong to someone, someone that would respect it, take care of it, and return it intact. His son wears love on his sleeve, and it’s easy for someone like that to be taken advantage of.

Steve is far into his recovery now. He insists on taking Bucky out for dinner, his treat, in order to show his appreciation. Steve takes him to a restaurant George has never been to before, something called Five Guys. He makes a joke about ‘five guys’ and Bucky laughs. For the first time, George sees Bucky’s capacity for love reflected back to him in the eyes of another.

George closes Steve’s file. He has a suspicion that Steve will be Bucky’s last.

**Author's Note:**

> This won’t be the last thing in the Devil verse <3


End file.
